Harry the Free Elf
by WhatHappensNext23
Summary: A House Elf is born the same night You-Know-Who is defeated. Her mother names her Harry, in honour of the Boy-Who-Lived. Growing up in Hogwarts, Harry becomes exposed to heretical ideas when she meets Dobby the House Elf. Together, they will explore the dark history of the House Elves and fight for the right to be free.


Harry the Free Elf

Linny stared at the tiny Elf in her hands. It had been a rough birth; it always was. While there were some healers among House Elves, like all their kind they could not travel freely. Medical attention was a privilege and a rarity.

House Elves didn't have spouses or partners the way Witches and Wizards did. They felt no sex drive or desire for romance. Sometimes a House Elf decided they wanted a babe and asked another House Elf to assist in the creation. More commonly, wizards would force them to breed, selling the children for great profit. Linny was a rarity in that she chose to have a babe. At twenty years of age, she was at middle age for a House Elf, and found herself becoming dissatisfied. Over the years her love of cooking and cleaning had begun to fade. Not that she didn't still love working. She did! But Linny began to wish for more entertaining tasks. These were blasphemous thoughts, and she dared not confess them to any other Elf. Instead, she hoped the task of looking after a babe would bring her joy.

In the pureblood manor she lived in there were three other House Elves. She had been sold at five years of age, when House Elves were deemed able to start the great joy of working. Another elf, Danny, had been sold at the same time and they had grown up great friends. It was Danny who Linny had asked to help her create a babe.

Danny interrupted her now, as she pondered names for her child. He popped next to her, ears twitching rapidly. Linny was instantly curious. What could make the normally calm Elf so excited? His hands flicked rapidly through signs, " _Another wizard arrived! One of those supporting You-Know-Who as our Master does. He said the Dark Lord had been defeated by a wizarding babe named Harry Potter."_

An overwhelming feeling of relief engulfed Linny. Her babe would not have to grow up in fear of her life. She would be able to grow up and work hard, as all House Elves aimed to do.

Linny signed, " _I name my babe Harry, in honour of this Wizard child."_ Elves always named their children ending in a -y sound. Sometimes their Masters renamed them, to the sadness of their parents. But the Master was always right. Danny's ears twitched even faster.

In the morning, she informed Master Rosier of the babe, in the House Elf dialect of the English language. "Linny gave birth. Named Harry," she said. The witch sent a curse sizzling her way in response, so Linny quickly popped out of the way to the cellars where she slept. Normally she would submit to punishment as was proper. Today, she couldn't risk injury. Harry needed her.

Harry was crying, waving her little fists around when Linny arrive in the cellars. " _Shhh, shhh. We must be quiet, little one. I know you're hungry. Mum will feed you."_

In preparation for the birth, a mammary lump had grown on her chest and she suckled Harry on it. It felt so alien, and kept getting in the way of cooking and gardening. She didn't know how Witches could stand it.

The week following Harry's birth Linny was in a constant state of exhaustion and exhilaration. She had never worked so hard in her life. The other House Elves helped occasionally. Old Henny kept advising her on proper treatment of a House Elf babe, but his advice was frequently contradictory and only made the whole thing more difficult. He had only seen one other babe looked after some thirty years ago. Senny avoided the babe at all costs. She claimed it was because she had a lot of work to do, with Linny unable to help, but Linny saw her confiding in Henny. _"She's so messy. So useless. I don't know how Linny can stand it."_ Danny helped when he could, but he too was working hard. Senny oversaw cooking, Danny cleaning and Henny gardening. Linny used to help where she was needed. This was mostly in the gardens where Henny was no longer as spry as he once was, and at dinnertime where a feast was required every night.

Linny had settled in to a routine of caring for Harry when it happened. They felt it like a tidal wave. It was huge, and terrifying, and a little bit awe inspiring. The sensation of being free. _"What happened? Master must be dead,"_ they signed, none of them paying attention to the other. The found her in her bedroom, lying still with robes perfecting arranged. Her wand was pointing to her forehead. _"Suicide,"_ said Henny knowledgeably. The idea was alien to a House Elf. Wizarding culture had long intermingled with muggle culture. Some wizards believed in no afterlife, some whispered of a heaven or a hell. Both ideas sounded terrifying. Death meant no more work. No more masters. No more friends.

" _She had nothing to live for,"_ Henny explained, _"now You-Know-Who is dead the cause her husband died fighting for will never come to pass."_ They mourned for a few minutes, standing in a circle, ear to ear. The loss of a Master must be recognised.

" _But what should we do?"_ asked Senny, _"We need a Master."_ House Elves bonded to a Wizarding family. If there were no surviving members of that family living, they would seek out a new home and Masters. Henny stroked his ears, _"Most House Elves without a home return to the sellers. They find a place for us. But they also breed us,"_ Senny's ears drooped at the idea. " _I have heard some House Elves go to Hogwarts. The Headmaster is always willing to take a House Elf without a Master,"_ Henny added.

" _Hogwarts, the school for little witches and wizards?"_ asked Linny, _"Hundreds of House Elves live there!"_ The idea was shocking. House Elves rarely interacted in large numbers. Frequently there was only one House Elf to a home. Linny was lucky her Masters were rich, and had been able to afford four. She had grown up with company. It was said those who lived alone forgot the language they learned as children, the secret language of the House Elves! The intricate signs allowed for silent communication so they may perform their jobs in the utmost quiet.

" _Hogwarts sounds better than the sellers. I don't want to be bred,"_ said Senny firmly.

" _If we go to Hogwarts, we can all stay together,"_ Danny said. It was agreed.

Master Dumbledore explained at Hogwarts they were not bonded to his family, but the post of Headmaster. As long as the school remained open, they could stay here forever. He bonded to them one by one, Linny's bond automatically connecting little Harry too. Master Dumbledore smiled at the name.

"May he grow up happy and healthy here," said the wizard. Linni didn't correct him on the babe's gender, knowing it was wrong to argue with the Master.

As she slept that night, surrounded by hundreds of unfamiliar Elves, she clutched Harry close, _"It is strange here. I think I might learn to like it."_


End file.
